Florida couldn’t make magic happen twice in one day and fell to the Alabama Crimson Tide, 6-3, in the second game of a doubleheader to close out the first SEC series of the year.
The good news is the Gators secured a series victory earlier in the day, but this would have been a 10th-straight victory for the club. The trio of Grayson Hitt, Zane Probst and Kade Woods kept Florida relatively quiet, and the Tide played with a lead for the entire night.
Hitt outdueled Florida starter Hurston Waldrep, who lasted six innings and gave up four runs in total (three earned). Waldrep’s command wasn’t great. He walked four and threw a wild pitch with a man on third that somehow went unpunished. He only struck out seven this week, which is low by Wadrep’s standards.
Florida had plenty of chances to score. The Gators had a baserunner in each of the first five innings and killed their own rally in the seventh with a bad baserunning blunder by Michael Robertson. Three of UF’s seven hits on the night came during that inning, but only one run crossed the plate.
ANARCHY pic.twitter.com/748rkxssQa
— Stephen Schoch (@bigdonkey47) March 18, 2023
Probst wasn’t the best, but Woods was dominant against Florida in the last three innings. He struck out all seven batters he faced and left the fans at Condron Family Ballpark with a bitter taste in their mouths despite an overall successful weekend.
Josh Rivera hit his 10th home run of the season in the loss, which is a career-high for him. He has the second-most homers of any Gator this season behind Jac Caglianone, who went 0 for 11 this series.
Luke Heyman got a bloop single when he pinch-hit for Dale Thomas, who started in left today for Wyatt Langford. It’s good to see Heyman back even if his hamstring is still sore, but Langford is the big missing piece right now in the lineup.
Colby Halter had a two-hit day and is starting to see the ball much better after another 0-for-10 streak. Robertson is also hitting better despite his baserunning mishap.
Brandon Neely pitched the final three innings for Florida and gave up just two runs on a home run from Alabama’s Caden Rose. He finished the night with seven strikeouts.
Caden Rose just left the stadium to give Alabama baseball the 6-3 lead. This ball was demolished pic.twitter.com/jncp80AnyA
— Stephen Schoch (@bigdonkey47) March 18, 2023
It was a tough way to end what was a really good weekend for Florida on the diamond, and it’s hard not to wonder how the…
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